Embodiments of the present invention relate to a method for producing an aluminum alloy having high design freedom and thermal conductivity.
Currently, the use of electronic control systems in automobiles is increasing. Thus, it is a major issue to efficiently dissipate heat generated from electronic devices integrated in a limited space during the operation of the electronic control system. Thus, there is an increased demand for alloy materials having high heat dissipation property, which can be applied to many electronic devices. In addition, in recent years, there has been a steady demand for automotive structural materials having lightweight and high functionality. Based on this, a demand for alloy materials having high heat dissipation property and high design freedom also has increased.
As alloy material candidates capable of having lightweight, high heat dissipation property and high design freedom as described above, aluminum alloys have been actively studied. Examples of aluminum alloys for heat dissipation include A6063 that is an extrusion material, and ADC 12 that is a die-casting material. A6063 has a relatively high thermal conductivity of about 200 W/(m·K), but has the disadvantage of a relatively low design freedom in terms of extrusion processes. ADC12 has a relatively high design freedom, because it is subjected to a casting process, but has the disadvantage of low thermal conductivity (about 90 W/(m·K)).